Jay Manley

ENGINEERING PROJECT MANAGER, TESLA MOTORS

Graduated: Bachelor of Engineering (Robotics and Mechatronics)

In 2012, as an undergraduate student in Engineering (Robotics and Mechatronics), Jay Manley led the University’s inaugural solar car team in the prestigious World Solar Car Challenge. Starting with just $500 and the support of two fellow students, Jay grew the team to more than 20 students with a budget of $300,000 by the time race day came around. That same determination to succeed has taken Jay from Western Sydney to Silicon Valley for a dream job as an Engineering Project Manager for Tesla Motors. Under the leadership of its CEO, Elon Musk, the innovative electric car manufacturer has earned a reputation for its disruptive technologies in the renewable energy industry in the same way Steve Jobs did with the computer industry.

Before joining Tesla, Jay worked as a Project Support Officer in the School of Computing Engineering
and Mathematics at Western Sydney University, where he said that leading the University’s solar
car team provided him with an international network of contacts.

“Working on the solar car team gave me the skills and confidence to chase a career in the world’s most competitive market for engineers. I’m grateful for the support and encouragement that the University provided. In putting their faith in me as a student to initiate a challenging project that came with enormous risk, but also the potential to be a great learning opportunity, they made my resume more attractive for the role at Tesla Motors,” Jay said.

Deng Thiak Adut

DEFENCE LAWYER

In 1985, the
Sudanese government began destroying villages eventually leading to the rise of
the People's Liberation Army. Two years later, six-year old Deng Thiak Adut was
taken away from his family's banana farm in South Sudan and conscripted into
the Army. After undergoing military training, several years of army service and
witnessing numerous atrocities, Deng was still a boy when he was shot in the
back while running through a village.

A further two
years later, a chance meeting led to Deng reuniting with his brother who helped
smuggle him out of the country by hiding him in a corn sack on the back of a
truck. The two brothers befriended an Australian family and eventually arrived
as refugees in 1998. After working at a local service station to learn English, Deng enrolled at TAFE and completed his Advanced Diploma in
Accounting before deciding to study law. In 2005 he enrolled in a Bachelor of
Laws at Western Sydney University and became the first person in his family to
graduate with a law degree.

Deng
now works as a lawyer in Blacktown, where he is determined to ensure that other
Sudanese refugees have the legal advice and support they need before entering
the court system.

Melissa chiu

MUSEUM DIRECTOR, CURATOR AND AUTHOR

Museum director, curator and
author, Melissa Chiu is recognised as one of the world's leading authorities on
modern and contemporary Asian art.

After graduating with a Bachelor
of Arts from Western Sydney University, Melissa lived in New York for 13 years,
where she ran the Asia Society and was Vice President of its Global Arts
Programs. She is now the Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
in Washington, DC.

As a specialist in connecting
artists and museums in the Asia-Pacific region with international institutions,
Melissa embodies the global mindset and connectivity that Western Sydney
University holds true.

Melissa
is also the author of several books on Chinese contemporary art, a board member
of the Association of Art Museum Directors, the American Alliance of Museums
and the Museum Association of New York. She is a also on the founding Advisory
committee for the USC American Academy in China and has participated in the
advisory committees for the Gwangju and Shanghai Biennales.